Visionary companies are few and far between in any industry. In the realm of bikes we can count them on one hand. We think of SRM, Assos, and Chris King -- each makes sublime products a world apart from their competition. On the one hand you might say each has re-defined their product category. But a more truthful statement is that their perfectionist standards put them in a product category of their own. No one ever asks, for example, if any other headset can match a King. For the passionate cyclist, choosing a King is like remembering to breathe. The same holds true for SRM and Assos: When performance is your primary criteria for choosing new equipment, a certain few brands shine bright.

Are there no visionary frame manufacturers? In the past we've seen individual frame models that were clear showstoppers -- the Colnago C50, the Pinarello Prince Carbon, and the BMC Pro Machine SLC 01 all come to mind. But never until now have we seen an entire brand amaze us. Typically you'll see one or two marquee models, then a catalog full of price-point placeholders. But we must admit that our involvement with Cervélo has started to change our thinking. Unlike the rest of the industry they don't believe variety is a good thing. Rather, they produce very few models, and they pour the whole might of their engineering brainpower into each and every one of them. Each has a specific purpose, and each has a race pedigree a mile long. The S2 frameset has seen front-page glory in the Tour de France, Milan-San Remo and the Amstel Gold Race; the R3 was ridden by Fabian Cancellara and Stuart O'Grady rode to victory in two consecutive editions of Paris-Roubaix; Carlos Sastre used an R3 SL for each and every stage as he fought for overall victory in the '08 Tour de France; and the SLC-SL was used for countless Grand Tour stage victories. And let's not forget the umpteen Tour stages and '08 Olympic medals won on the P3 , and the bargain-priced S1 aluminum frame ridden to GC wins at both Paris-Nice and Criterium International.

Here's the deal: It's a near certainty that you'll be a faster and more comfortable cyclist by moving from your current bike to a Cervélo. Like never before, we have an answer for our customers when they ask us the all-too-common question: "If you were spending your own money, what bike would you buy?" We've had to hem and haw and play diplomat in the past. Cervélo makes this question far easier to answer.

Why Cervélo? Because they assert their excellence in each of the 4 criteria by which every bike should be evaluated:

1. Aerodynamics. Many companies brag of the time they spend in the wind tunnel analyzing the drag numbers on their frames. While tunnel time is always revealing, most companies are content to use it to provide data on frames whose designs are already complete. Cervélo is different, though: They don't use tunnel time to tell the tale about final designs. Rather, they use the wind tunnel as an essential tool in the design process of their bikes.

No frame manufacturer is better prepared than Cervélo to pursue the perfection of bicycle aerodynamics. The background of the company founders is in the aerospace industry, and they have a full-time staff of 6 engineers. Their commitment to R&D and Computer Finite Element Analysis (laborious work with none of the sex appeal of sitting in a wind tunnel with a pro) shows in the sculpted design of the SLC-SL, S2, S1, the P4, P3, and the P2. The frontal area and overall shape of Cervélo frame tubes are directly influenced by the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics (NACA) recommendations on aerodynamics.

Even at first glance you'll notice that Cervélo frame tubes are built with a distinctly elliptical leading edge. An elliptical profile is essential for aerodynamics. It's interesting, then, that most every other manufacturer employs a round front with a sharp trailing edge. Why round and not elliptical? Because a rounded front is easy to derive from a round tube, and the resulting tube easily accommodates a round seatpost. Cervélo doesn't "shape" or "form" tubes that start in a round shape. Rather, they extrude their aluminum tubes to achieve the NACA profile because extrusion liberates them from the tubing profile limitations imposed by round tubes. Cervélo is also fixated on the thickness-to-chord ratio of their frames. If a frame tube is relatively wide compared to its depth the airflow will detach, creating turbulence and drag. You can rest assured that you'll never see a Cervélo with a massively oversized downtube!

2. Weight. Cervélo pushes the weight-savings envelope with an aggression unmatched by any other company: With the SLC-SL, they offer a frame with the sub-1000g weight of the R3, but with aerodynamic qualities identical to the Soloist Carbon. And with the R3 SL they dominate the realm of the sub-900g frame. They've made optimal use of new ultra-high modulus carbon fiber to save weight and improve upon the R3's stiffness-to-weight ratio.

3. Durability. Cervélo was the first company to make a sub-1000g production frame to earn the coveted EFBe certification, proof that it survived the toughest fatigue test in the bike industry. In fact, the Cervélo frames proved that they could survive each test twice. The EFBe couldn't break the frame after 100,000 cycles of testing, so Cervélo asked them to run another 100,000 on the same frame. The frame survived unscathed. Keep in mind that most manufacturers don't dare send their frames to EFBe, and of all the frames sent roughly 2/3rds don't make it through 100,000 cycles. This type of durability is the benchmark of every Cervélo frame.

4. Quality Control. The demand for Cervélo frames has exploded in recent years. In fact, the only thing that has matched their brand cachet of late has been their utter unavailability. Cervélo simply couldn't meet demand, not even close. Even though they were working with the most reputable carbon suppliers in the marketplace, Cervélo rejected 95% of the frames made for them. If they detected the least bit of imperfection -- cosmetic or structural -- they scrapped the frame.

Cervélo soon came to the conclusion that they had to take absolute control over their production process. They made a substantial investment in a new testing facility in order to evaluate the effect of materials changes, carbon lay-up changes, and manufacturing process changes. They work closely with their suppliers to produce frames according to the lessons they've learned in testing. It gives them the ultimate level of oversight over production and quality control.